If you have a newly constructed residence in Alice, it was in all likelihood made with energy efficiency as a priority. This means more insulation and windows and doors with better seals. While these improvements are fantastic for keeping your heating and cooling bills affordable, they’re not so excellent for your indoor air quality.
Your HVAC system needs to work with a filter. But if you have a flat filter, you won’t be getting ample filtration. This kind only gives the bare minimum of protection by stopping dust from getting into your heating and cooling system.
While you can upgrade to a pleated filter or one with a increased MERV rating, it still might not be enough filtration, even more so if someone in your home has allergies or other respiratory problems.
That’s where a whole-house air purifier comes in. These systems are attached within ductwork to provide mighty filtration around your home. Depending on the kind you go with, you’ll be able to filter allergens, odors and even some viruses under certain airflow conditions.
Here are our top systems from Lennox, an industry leader in air purification.
Best Air Purifiers from Lennox
1. HEPA Air Purifiers
A HEPA air purifier, like the Healthy Climate® High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filtration System, delivers premium filtration. These filters were first developed to shield scientists as they created the atomic bomb. Today, they’re a must-have in hospitals and other medical facilities.
The Healthy Climate HEPA Filtration System features a three-step filtration process. A prefilter catches larger pollutants before the HEPA filter traps the rest of miniscule pollutants. Then, a charcoal filter eradicates odors and chemical vapors.
The PureAir™ S Air Purification System connects to all HVAC brands and smoothly links to your smart home. It fights the three major kinds of indoor air pollutants:
- Airborne particles
- Chemical odors and vapors
- Germs and bacteria, under certain airflow conditions
This air purifier can remove 99.9%* of pollutants, like mold spores, pollen, dust and pet dander. It’s also effective at decreasing or destroying 90%1 of flu and cold viruses under certain airflow conditions. And, according to laboratory and field studies, it reduces and eliminates approximately 50% of household odors and chemical vapors within 24 hours.
The PureAir S comes with sensing features that make it easy to keep up. When paired with an iComfort® S30 smart thermostat, you’ll get a notification to install a new filter and UVA light.2 This home air purifier must be linked with communicating Lennox systems and the iComfort S30.
2. Media Air Cleaners
Lennox Healthy Climate® Media Air Cleaners come in in a variety of MERV ratings to fit your needs. This rating determines how effective filters are at trapping contaminants. The better the number, the greater the filtration.
The Healthy Climate Carbon Clean 16® Media Air Cleaner is recommended for homes with allergy suffers and pets. This is a HEPA filter air purifier, as it has a MERV 16 rating for hospital-level filtration. And it removes more than 95%3 of unhealthy particles from your home’s air.
The Healthy Climate 13 Media Air Cleaner is suggested for households who want enhanced protection from viruses and bacteria. This filter captures 99% of larger particles like dust, pollen and lint. And up to 54% of smaller particles down to 0.3 microns.4
The Healthy Climate 11 Media Air Cleaner is a a great air purifier for allergies and in houses with pets. It removes more than 87% of bigger particles down to 3 microns and more than 28% of miniscule ones down to 0.3 microns.4 It’s able to offer this strong filtration without running up the bill for operating your HVAC system.
These three media air cleaners work with any brand of HVAC system. However, it’s essential to realize that some of the denser ones, like MERV 16 and 13, may decrease your system’s airflow. This can hike up your utility expenses.
3. UV Air Purifiers
The sun’s UV rays are the reason why you get a stinging sunburn. But this kind of light has a useful application when concealed within your ductwork. It’s also powerful enough to decrease germs, mold and fungi under certain airflow conditions.
In actuality, the Healthy Climate UV Germicidal Light can decrease the concentration of airborne microorganisms by 50% in as little as 45 minutes.5 This light destroys cell structure, which halts these microorganisms from flourishing and infiltrating throughout your house.
And this UV air purifier can also help keep your home comfort system clean and working efficiently. It eliminates of germs, mold and fungi that are hidden inside ductwork and your system itself. This UV light air purifier achieves all these things without producing lung-inflaming ozone.6
Breathe Healthier Air with the Support of Our Air Purification Professionals
Your family’s comfort and health is our top priority at Rescue Heating & Air. We know there are a lot of options out there. That’s why we make it easy to partner with our indoor air quality specialists. We specialize in recommending solutions that meet your needs and budget, and we’d love to learn more about your home and your air quality problems. Give us a call at 361-265-4371 today to get started.
1Based on laboratory and field studies.
2PureAir™ S requires the iComfort® S30 and a communicating indoor unit.
3Leading consumer magazine, January 2012. Based on the published CADR, which is the standardized measurement system to determine the cubic feet of clean air produced per minute. Particles captured range in size down to 0.3 micron. One micron = 1/25,000 of an inch in diameter.
4Based on lab tests conducted on filters with conditions included in ASHRAE standard 52.2 for E1 and E3 size ranges.
5Based on constant circulation of air in the home, 3,000-square-foot home with a 5-ton air handler.
6U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Ozone Generators that are Sold as Air Cleaners: An Assessment of Effective and Health Consequences,” August 2006.